News
‘Fair’ image means a toxic face
Brides-to-be, those visiting beauty salons for facials and those desperate to have a bleached white skin are being warned of illegal skin whitening creams widely available in cosmetics stores and online. 
While Sri Lanka permits 1 milligram per kilogram (mg/kg) of mercury content in beauty products, it was revealed that some products claiming to be beauty cream, beauty whitening cream, spot removing cream, contain up to 20,000 mg/kg of mercury.
The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) released a list containing alarming levels of mercury in some creams. A cream named Layla beauty cream contained 20,908 mg/kg of mercury while another bearing the name ‘Fresh and White’ beauty cream had a mercury content of 17,632 mg/kg.
“Following laboratory reports of high mercury levels in whitening creams and lotions that enter the country, we decided to raid shops in several districts and found out that these creams are fast selling and have a great demand from beauty parlour operators and individuals in cities and outstations as well,” said the assistant director (regional operations) of the CAA, W.M.P.Wijeyasinghe.
Last week about 90 raids were done island-wide with large hauls recovered from Badulla, Ratnapura, Puttalam, Ambalangoda and other areas.
According to the extraordinary gazette issued in 2018, the CAA stated the permissible maximum limits for heavy metals. It permits 10 mg/kg of lead, 3mg/kg of arsenic, 1mg/kg of mercury and 3mg/kg of cadmium in skin creams ranging from whitening cream and lotion, cleansing cream, sun lotion, hair removal cream, moisturiser and lotion, cold cream and lotions, vanishing cream, make up cream and lotion.
Apart from the heavy metal limits it is mandatory under the Consumer Affairs Authority Act to state the name of the products, details of the manufacturers including the country, local importer or distributor, expiry, maximum retail price, list of ingredients, instructions for use, warning statements etc.
Last week the CAA carried out around 90 raids island-wide with large hauls of illegal items being recovered from Badulla, Ratnapura, Puttalam, Ambalangoda and other areas. Pix by Sameera Weerasekera
Since the issuing of the gazette, about 1,200 raids related to cosmetics have taken place with legal action against 900 traders and Rs.5.5 million fines collected, said Mr. Wijeyasinghe.
“Our main issue is that despite the raids, these illegal whitening creams from West Asia, India, Pakistan, Thailand and China enter the country through suitcase traders and sometimes go past the customs. Plans are ahead to strengthen screening for counterfeit goods, illegal and hazardous cosmetics at arrival points after the airports reopen,” he said.
If found guilty, an individual is liable for a fine ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 for the first offence and repeat offenders face fines of between Rs. 2,000 and Rs 20,000. A company could be fined Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 100,000 for a first offence and if repeated a fine of between Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 200,000.
Previously, cosmetics were registered, regulated and monitored by the Cosmetics Devices and Drug Regulatory Authority (CDDA) and governed by the CDDA Act, but since it was replaced by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) with more prominence given to regulating medicinal drugs and devices, pharmaceuticals, and borderline products such as nutraceuticals, food supplements etc.
“Once the NMRA was established, cosmetics regulations went backstage allowing illegal cosmetics to flood into the country, and go unmonitored. At present there is neither a separate law for cosmetics nor a separate state body to monitor. This needs to be strengthened and beauty item shops and beauty parlours need to be continuously monitored for illegal whitening creams,” said the NMRA’s Chief Food and Drug Inspector Amith Perera.
He said social media was widely used to promote illegal cosmetics.
“It is going to be challenging to detect when the sale is being done online with no shop to raid and sometimes the sellers are anonymous,” Mr. Perera warned.
He said after the CDDA Act was repealed, the CAA has been carrying out raids and taking legal action.
“When the previous CDDA Act was in force, we had a separate unit that looked into cosmetics from the time it entered the county, apart from registering frequent sample testing by sending to laboratories and raids taking place. Now the NMRA is mainly focused on medicines, and limited to cosmetics registration,” he added. 
The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that the skin lightening industry is one of the fastest growing beauty industries worldwide and is estimated to be worth US$ 31.2 billion by 2024.
The WHO also warned of adverse health effects from mercury in skin lightening creams and soaps. They include kidney damage, skin rashes, skin discolouration and scarring, reduction in the skin’s resistance to bacterial and fungal infections, anxiety and depression.
“Mercury in soaps, creams and other cosmetic products is eventually discharged into waste water and can enter the food chain as a highly toxic methylmercury in fish. Pregnant women who consume fish containing methylmercury can transfer the mercury to their foetus, which can result in neuro developmental deficits in the children,” the warning stated.
| Early warning | |
| Illegal skin whitening products have been a menace for many years. Please refer to my story ‘Beauty and the Beast’ published in 2018 that includes warnings from consultant dermatologists and a well known beautician. Please find the article on our website by clicking the below link. http://www.sundaytimes.lk/180513/news/beauty-and-the-beast-293858.html |